Defense Secretary Jim Mattis Resigns

Differences of opinion cited as a primary reason

Jim Mattis, the U.S. Defense Secretary resigned from his post after giving his letter of departure to President Donald Trump on Thursday.

“Because you have the right to have a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position,” said Mattis to Trump in his resignation letter.

Mattis will remain in his role until February.

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In his letter, Mattis alluded that he may have disagreed with the president on recent foreign policy matters.

“One core belief that I have always held is that our strength as a nation is inextricably linked to our unique and comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships,” wrote Mattis. “My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues.”

Although it appears as though Mattis and Trump disagreed on some matters, Trump applauded his efforts as the Defense Secretary.

“General Jim Mattis will be retiring, with distinction, at the end of February, after having served my Administration as Secretary of Defense for the past two years,” said Trump on Twitter right before Mattis’ resignation letter was made public.

“During Jim’s tenure, tremendous progress has been made, especially with respect to the purchase of new fighting equipment. General Mattis was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations. A new Secretary of Defense will be named shortly. I greatly thank Jim for his service!” said Trump on Twitter.

Trump is actively looking for a replacement and is aiming to announce who will be the new Defense Secretary by the end of the year.

Party leaders have made public statements about Mattis’ departure– most of which expressing disappointment.

“It is regrettable that the president must now choose a new Secretary of Defense,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “But I urge him to select a leader who shares Secretary Mattis’s understanding of these vital principles and his total commitment to America’s servicemembers.”

“I’m shaken by the news because of the patriot that Secretary Mattis is,” said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. “I think that everybody in the country should read his letter of resignation. It’s a letter of great patriotism, but respect for the president, but also a statement of his values.”

Mattis’ announcement comes as Trump made the decision to pull all the U.S. troops from Syria. Mattis had said that he did not think it was an appropriate time to do so.

Author’s note: It’s a shame that Mattis is resigning. He made his opinions clear and would respectfully disagree with the president. Even the president needs other leaders like this. You can’t only be surrounded by “yes” people. Trump recognized this and that’s why he hired him in the first place.

Editor’s note: Do you honestly believe Nancy Pelosi is “shaken”? The liberal media is quick to launch attacks on Trump for this, but we have seen that Trump gets things done despite the turnover in his administration. Unfortunately, Mattis did not seem to take to the aggressive strategies of the President. In my own opinion, Trump’s aggressiveness has worked very well.